


5 times Anakin messed up the Knighthood Trials and 1 time he could not

by Aridette



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Gen, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Padawan, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 23:06:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6170257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aridette/pseuds/Aridette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Anakin would do anything to remain at Obi-Wan's side.<br/>Anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 times Anakin messed up the Knighthood Trials and 1 time he could not

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheWritingGuineapig (the_lady_aridette)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=TheWritingGuineapig+%28the_lady_aridette%29).



> For TheWritingGuineapig, who isn't feeling well.  
> And myself, who is also not feeling well.  
> Also dedicated to the wonderful people out there who give me all the platonic Obikin feels, aaaaah!!
> 
> If you find any terrible mistakes, please let me know. English isn't my first language. Any comments would be appreciated, since this is my first work in this fandom.

It was not the first time one of their missions found Anakin running after a suspect. How they managed to escape time and time again, he did not understand. Every time he and his Master thought they had considered every possible way in and out. And yet they always found another, making either of them, or sometimes even both, give chase through the busy streets of Coruscant.

Today it was Anakin who had to try his damnedest not to crash into passer-bys as he ran after the culprit. A throng of people exited from an airbus that had landed right in front of him, successfully obscuring his sight in the progress and making him lose the guy.

Out of breath and trying to collect himself he answered the beeping of his communicator.  
“Master?”  
  
“Have you caught him?” Obi-Wan asked, foregoing a greeting.  
  
“I've lost him.” Anakin admitted while he let is gaze wander over the crowd. Why did this particular thief have to be so capable?  
Then again, the Senate would not have sent Jedi if their security could have taken care of the matter themselves.  
  
“Anakin...” Obi-Wan sounded a little exasperated. It was not the first time Anakin had had to admit to losing a trail while giving chase by himself.  
  
“I can catch him, don't worry. Just give me a second.” he tried to reassure the older Jedi as much as himself. “You know I'm more than capable enough.”  
  
“Of letting suspects escape, repeatedly. Yes, I am aware.”  
  
Anakin laughed drily. “If you say so, Master.”  
  
“Anyhow, while you were busy letting a trace go cold, we had a look at the most recent security footage. It seems we've got ourselves a changeling.”  
  
The young Padawan groaned. “Of course we have.” Memories of the last time they had chased a changeling teased him as they gnawed at the back of his mind. That had gone about as well. And in the end his Master had caught their target.  
  
He took a moment to catch his breath properly and then calmed it further, directing his attention towards himself, sharpening his Jedi senses before he scanned his surroundings once more. This time he would prove he could learn from his mistakes.  
  
Anakin started walking towards a side road he had not previously noticed. He could not tell why, but it seemed he was meant to follow that path. Something almost pulled him in the direction.  
  
“Anakin, are you still there?” Obi-Wan asked when his Padawan stopped replying.  
  
“Yes, Master.” he replied out of habit as the lights around him grew dimmer. “But I think I am on to something.”  
  
“Did you even listen to what I just said?”  
That Anakin sometimes just stopped listening in the middle of a conversation was hardly news. But that did not mean Obi-Wan appreciated it any more now than he did a year ago.  
  
“I was just saying we had word of some of the stolen goods showing up at a pawnbroker’s on level 4042.”  
  
“I am on level 4042.” Anakin pointed out and went on down the now narrowing street. It was weird, he thought, that a place like this existed on this level at all. It did not seem like one of the shadier ones at all, not a level that thugs and thieves and worse would swarm to. But here he was.  
  
The lights flickered precariously and the crowd had completely dispersed. He was alone in the alley. One hand rested on his lightsaber.  
Despite not seeing or being otherwise aware of any imminent danger, he would rather be safe than sorry.

“Good.” Obi-Wan said in his usual light tone, not really meaning it like that at all. He would rather be there, but he knew Anakin would not wait for him and instead insist on going on himself. Perhaps it was time he gave him a real chance to prove himself anyway.  
  
“Well, the name of the store is-”  
  
“Kelantos’.” Anakin interrupted him.  
  
“How did you know?”  
  
When Anakin did not reply immediately, Obi-Wan went on. “Please don't tell me you frequent places like that.”  
  
“Don't be ridiculous.” the young apprentice said, making his mentor frown.  
After all this time they still had to work on his manners. But that was a lecture for another day or perhaps later, depending on how soon they could close that case.  
“I'm right in front of it.” Anakin clarified before the lecture started to properly take shape in Obi-Wan's mind.  
  
“How-” the older Jedi meant to ask, but thought better of it.  
  
“You always tell me to let the Force guide me, Master” he said as though that explained everything. “Well, it did.”  
When no objections came, he added “I'm going in.”

“Take care”, Obi-Wan meant to say, but Anakin had already closed the com link.

* * *

  
The next he heard of his Padawan was when he stood before him, exhausted but proud, and the culprit handcuffed by his side.  
  
“I told you I was more than capable enough.” Anakin grinned.  
Obi-Wan could not help the smile that tugged at his lips even as he said “After letting him escape how many times?”  
  
“Three.” the thief murmured unintelligibly, which earned him a rather painful shove towards the guards.  
“And yet you are the one handcuffed and under arrest.”  
“The Senate Guard can take it from here.” Obi-Wan said - a peace offering before the mocking could go any further.

They watched the retreating group in silence for a moment before Anakin turned towards his Master.  
“I told you I wouldn’t disappoint you this time.”  
He was clearly excited to have succeeded and proven himself worthy of the trust placed in him.  
  
“And you haven’t.” Obi-Wan replied calmly, placing a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and guiding him towards the exit. “You’ve done well today, my young Padawan.”  
  
Rationally he knew Anakin reacted better to praise than criticism, but the words never came easy to him. Mainly because he was just as aware of the fact that his apprentice easily lost focus on the matters at hand when he became too proud of his achievements, however minor they had been.  
But under these circumstances, he thought, allowances could be made. He was about to say something else when Anakin interrupted him.  
  
“Perhaps now you see I _can_ be trusted on solo-missions.”  
  
Obi-Wan sighed.  
“Anakin, succeeding one time does not mean you are ready for that yet.”  
They have had this discussion countless times. But up until now, at least Obi-Wan had been able to give obvious reasons for why he did not want his Padawan to go off on his own just yet.  
  
“But Master, you said-”  
  
“I know what I said and I stand by my word. You will get your chance when I see fit.”  
  
Anakin mumbled something unintelligible in reply as he followed Obi-Wan outside.  
  
“What was that?”  
  
“Nothing, Master.”

Obi-Wan stopped and turned to face Anakin.  
  
“Listen, I know it’s frustrating. But believe me, it’s for the best.” he tried to explain in a stern voice.  
  
At once Anakin stood a little straighter and looked up from the ground to meet his Master’s eyes.  
“You always say that, but wouldn’t I learn more that way? Wouldn’t I gather more experience when I’m not just trailing after you?” he asked flippantly.  
  
“‘ _Trailing after me_ ’? Is that what you do when half of the time I can’t tell where you ran off to now or what risky plan you’re about to see through next?” Obi-Wan replied in as heated a tone as his calm demeanour allowed for.  
  
“I’m only trying to help!” Anakin yelled.  
  
“Well you would help me more if you learned to hold your tongue and follow your orders.”  
  
Anakin huffed, almost in disbelief. “Fine.”  
  
“Fine.” Obi-Wan repeated, sure that for once he had made his point clear.  
  
How was it that they always ended up here? It was childish and made Obi-Wan feel stupid. He should be able to handle his Padawan without raising his voice, much less in public. Qui-Gon had certainly never done that. Then again, he could not recall many times it would have been necessary.  
  
“I’ll find the way back to the Temple myself.” the younger man huffed once more.  
Without another word he stalked off in the opposite direction from where his Master was heading. 

* * *

  
Brooding over a tumbler of a cool blue liquid Anakin did not quite remember ordering, his anger slowly dissipated. The noise around him drowned out his own too-loud thoughts and the soft, alcohol-induced buzz distracted him from Obi-Wan’s attempts to reach out through their bond.  
  
With his mental shields up Anakin instead concentrated on the conversations going on around him. Most of them revolved around different patrons heading out to enjoy a somewhat happier ending than Anakin himself expected for this night.  
  
Lost in the moment he could almost imagine what it must be like for them - other people his age, who did not have to worry about following the Jedi Code or his Master’s orders or fighting wars that were not theirs, who could simply enjoy their freedom for the time being.

He sighed and downed the rest of his drink.  
Freedom was a strange concept to him. In a way he was free, surely more so than he used to, but in other respects he would never truly be.  
  
Some days he found himself wishing - wishing to be free of the restrictions of the Order, free of the rules governing his life, free ob Obi-Wan and his endless nagging.  
With a nod of his head he ordered another drink.  
  
He drank from the smooth glass and turned to watch the crowd, imagining what it would be like to swap places.  
Nothing kept him from joining them and pretending to be someone else for a night, a day, a week, forever.  
  
But pretending it would be, nothing more, nothing less.  
Because even if he went home with someone else, something in the back of his mind would remind him that Obi-Wan would be worried if he was nowhere to be found in the morning.  
And if he left Coruscant on a whim to do whatever he felt like doing, who would be there to tell him he had been reckless? Who would have his back when one of his plans backfired? Or praise him when he had done well? Or rile him up just to make him laugh the very next moment? Who would he ask for guidance when he was not sure which path to take?  
  
‘ _Not Obi-Wan._ ’ his mind helpfully provided.  
  
His heart clenched at the thought. The shields he had held so tight all night lowered noticeably.  
He could take shutting Obi-Wan out for a few hours to collect his thoughts and calm down, but imagining this emptiness in the back of his mind to be permanent? It would soon consume him.  
  
If freedom came at the price of such loneliness, he would rather never part from his Master in the first place.  
  
Anakin left his drink half-finished.  
Perhaps nothing kept him from joining the nameless crowd, but then again, there was nothing worthwhile keeping him in this place either.

* * *

  
It was a little past lunchtime before Anakin finally got a hold of Obi-Wan, who had been holed up with the Council for most of the morning going over Force-knows-what.

The look of surprise on his Master’s face was well worth the wait though as he entered his quarters and found Anakin waiting for him at the table.

“We haven’t had time to share lunch lately, so I thought-” Anakin began, gesturing toward the empty seat across from him. Suddenly, he felt a little more flustered than was technically necessary. They really had not spent much time together outside of their missions as of late.

“You always find a way to make me feel even worse for being even a little harsh to you.” Obi-Wan said indignantly. The smile on his face belied his words.

“That wasn’t my intention!” the younger Padawan rushed to object before he had even raised his gaze enough to notice the little smirk.

“Thank you.”  
When Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder in passing he had all the confirmation he needed that his Master was not really still cross with him. The tension fell from his shoulders instantly.  
  
Before he could say anything else though, Obi-Wan began to speak again.  
“I meant to talk to you, Anakin.” he said as he opened a bottle. “About yesterday.”  
  
“I know, Master.”  
  
“You do?” Obi-Wan feigned surprise.  
  
“And I’m sorry, Master.” Anakin continued without looking up.  
  
Anakin did not have to see his Master to know the exact face Obi-Wan made at his admission, rare as it was. Hearing him almost choke on his water gave him all the hint he needed as to his reaction.  
  
Obi-Wan sighed quietly and crossed the room to stand behind Anakin. His hand was back on his apprentice’s shoulder. And oh, how Anakin had missed their casual touches in the past months. At first he had hardly noticed, but soon he had gotten the feeling that Obi-Wan was purposely distancing himself from him a little more with every day that passed.  
  
“So am I. I shouldn’t have been so harsh to you when praise was in order.” Obi-Wan finally said. He absentmindedly rubbed his thumb over Anakin’s neck, the way his Padawan remembered him doing from the very beginning. “The Council was very pleased with how you handled this case. You should be proud.”  
  
“Thank you, Master.” Anakin said as humbly as he could, but his smile was audible regardlessly.  
  
“Enough of this.” Obi-Wan softly smacked his shoulder before he went to sit across from him. He knew Anakin would preen for weeks at any rate.  
  
“But as I said,” he began more slowly this time, pronouncing every word for dramatic effect, “I have spoken with the Council. And we agreed that you are ready to take the Knighthood Trials any time now. It looks like we're going to stay on Coruscant for more than a couple of days this time, so I would be happy to sign you up. How does that sound?”

Anakin faltered.  
The warm feeling bubbling up inside of him should have been happiness.  
Instead it was panic.  
The rush he felt should have been excitement.  
Instead it was dread that left his head spinning.  
  
When he still did not respond, Obi-Wan asked more solemnly “Anakin? Is everything alright?”  
  
“I- Yes, of course. I just-” His mouth felt awfully dry all of a sudden. Anakin swallowed and put on his best smile. “I just didn’t think you thought I was ready. Much less that the Council would agree, after everything. I mean-”  
  
Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair, studying his apprentice’s face more closely.  
“So I’ll sign you up then?”  
  
“I would be honoured, Master.” Anakin said, then looked up to meet his mentor’s eyes. “But I don’t feel ready yet.”  
  
“You don’t-?”  
And that Obi-Wan could not find even the slightest hint of a lie in his features was no coincidence.

After last night’s realizations, becoming a Jedi Knight was as far from Anakin’s mind as anything had ever been.  
If he wanted to be free, he would be free in his choices, not free of Obi-Wan.  
And nothing would change his mind.

 


End file.
